Black Mirror Review - The obscure gothic horror franchise returns

The first thing you think about the title Black Mirror is probably the popular TV series (currently on Netflix) with the same name. However, the name was already used for something else. In 2003, the first Black Mirror game was released, an old-fashioned adventure that is not really considered a classic, but has produced two sequels. It is therefore a strange choice for a 'reboot'. Nevertheless, THQ Nordic has secured the rights of the franchise and put King Art Games to work for a new part in the series on the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Like its predecessors, Black Mirror revolves around the Gordon clan, the owners of old Gothic castle in Scotland. David Gordon, who has spent his life in India so far, is informed that his father is deceased and that he has to return home to take over the family estate. The game is set in 1926, in contrast to the original that takes place later, and the castle seems to have seen better days when David arrives. It is far from a warm welcome from the staff and your family. There is a reason that David was never to be found on the estate.

You soon get the feeling that not everything seems to be right in the Black Mirror house and this ensures that David will explore his new home. We will not reveal the story, since adventuretics largely revolve around the story, but it is one of the game's strengths. The atmosphere is tense and there is a constant feeling that you are being watched by the other characters. A fairly effective approach. You never really know who your allies and enemies are, something that is supported by dialogue options during conversations. You can be honest or lie in certain situations depending on whether you trust a particular character or not. This works well.

During the heyday of the genre, much depended on how entertaining and challenging they were. If they were not well designed, you could sometimes get stuck for days or weeks. This is something that Black Mirror is guilty of, partly in any case. Very early in the beginning there is a puzzle where you have to decipher a series of runes using a four-digit code. We have tried all sorts of things and have pulled the necessary hairs out of our heads during this process, frustrated that our logic did not match that of the game. In the end we had to solve this by trial-and-error and simply try all possible combinations - something that cost us almost two hours.

The game simply is not efficient in providing hints and directions to the player or introducing the right way of thinking. We know it should not be easy, but puzzles should be designed so that the player never doubts what the game wants you to achieve. After that there was a long period in game where we did not get stuck at all, but unfortunately the same problems returned. These experiences greatly diminish the overall experience of the game, which is a shame as there were some very cool puzzles among the bad ones. It is a mishmash and that is annoying, since almost all game mechanics can be found here.

That is not our only criticism. The control and camera are terrible, to say the least, and ruined the whole experience for the most part. You control David Gordon from a sideways camera, not static, but one that follows. The problem is that there are many blind spots that make your character disappear under a staircase or get stuck behind a pillar. It is true that there are no major shortcomings, but they are constantly getting stuck in the environment. Especially since you have to be in the right place at many times to activate or investigate something. Because of this, the game feels very unfinished. Another example of this is the poor implementation of invisible walls that you encounter, especially in places where it seems as if you can continue here. An example of this is the large door that you use to enter the castle. If you return later, you can not reach it anymore, because a part of the hall is delimited invisibly.

It all gets better when you can finally leave the castle and get the freedom to explore the area. This is where the graphics are well exhibited and excel.

Visually, the game is pretty decent. The castle itself contains many details and beautiful rooms and outside the natural environment is oppressive and creepy. The castle itself is in a poor condition and contains many dark rooms without illumination. You can walk through it with a candle which adds to the atmosphere. During the day, however, the lines around 'textures' fall and you clearly see that the game is not finished down to the last detail.

The characters are generally well made with facial features that are largely solid. However, lips do not move synchronously to speech throughout the experience and from certain angles the eyes seem lifeless. It is also clear that certain characters have received more attention and love than others. Again it is a mishmash.

The sounds in Black Mirror are, however, decent. The voice-acting is decent and some characters speak with a heavy Scottish accent, which contributes to authenticity. It seems that the voice actors have been given some freedom in completing their role, with the subtitles not always matching the English subtitles. Something that is especially the case with Scottish idioms and with standard English text.

There is not much to say about the music. It swings by the more dramatic scenes, but largely the background sounds that assist you while exploring the castle. These sounds contribute to the atmosphere and the visual style. Together, the audio and the visual style make you feel alone and unsafe, where there is danger around every corner.

Conclusion

Although it offers a lot of atmosphere, it is difficult to recommend Black Mirror. It is clearly a game with potential, but at the same time it is difficult to imagine that all the shortcomings with a patch will be removed - this would require quite a big update of the core experience. But if your interest is still fueled, we advise you to wait for some updates. Normally we would not recommend this in a review, but the technical shortcomings are currently in the way of the experience.

➕ Well-made audio and solid voice-acting; great atmosphere; good story.
➖ Unfinished game mechanisms; terrible control; long puzzles; many glitches.

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